Hello, let me introduce myself first..
For the first 30 years of my life, everything was smooth and worry-free. I was my parents’ most beloved child, found my true love in college, and happily married him after graduation.
At work, I was my boss’s most valued employee. Whenever I was in charge of a project, colleagues would inevitably say, “Oh, then I’m totally at ease.” I was constantly named “Employee of the Year,” with generous bonuses every year.
Later, I started my own business. Within just three months, I had broken into the market and started making money. By the fifth month, I was earning twice my previous salary. Growth was steady month after month. Right when the business needed more hands, I serendipitously met an amazing partner, and the company reached a whole new level.
Really, it seemed like at every step, whatever I needed, a pair of hands would always place it right in front of me, just in time.
My Two Girls: Ellie & Mia
Meet Ellie, My Firstborn
In 2020, my husband and I decided to have a child. After trying for over a year, we finally got the news in 2021 that a little one was on the way. In 2022, we welcomed our first child, Ellie. She made me a mother.
She is utterly adorable—big eyes, rosy skin, chubby little hands. Every time I look at her, I can’t help but give her a kiss. She is pure joy, and I love her more each day.
But as a first-time mom, I faced unprecedented difficulties. The postpartum tearing wouldn’t heal, and the pain was excruciating. Clogged milk ducts made my breasts hard as rocks. The severe sleep deprivation… And what was even more crushing was that, with zero parenting experience, I was clueless when faced with her unexplained wailing, night terrors, refusal to nurse, constipation, diarrhea, fevers… I desperately searched online, longing for one accurate, truly useful answer!
It was during this time that I thought, once I make it through this “dark” path, I must leave a light on for other new moms.
And Then Came Mia
Ellie had just turned one when I got pregnant again. In 2024, we welcomed our second daughter, Mia.
Completely different from Ellie, Mia is a great eater and sleeper. Although she had her fussy moments in the first two months, starting almost from month three, she became super easygoing. She feeds on schedule, gradually sleeps through the night, loves her solid foods, and adapted quickly when I had to stop breastfeeding due to mastitis.
This made me realize just how vastly different babies can be! It made me even more determined to write about my experiences.
Why I Had to Start This Blog
The Catalyst: A Life Pivoted
After Mia was born, my business also began to decline sharply. I had no choice but to close it and become a full-time mom. My work no longer involves Excel and Word, but instead revolves around changing diapers, washing bottles, making baby food, and managing household chores…
This has been a monumental challenge for me. All my past achievements seem irrelevant now. Managing two young children has brought me a sense of frustration I’ve never known before.
The Daily Reality
They are always fighting over things. When one is in my arms, the other immediately demands to be held too. When I try to cook, Ellie wants me to read her a book. When I attempt to load the washing machine, Mia has a diaper blowout, and I must drop everything to change her…
By the time I finish all that, I see the cup of hot coffee on the table has gone cold again. And it’s not until evening that I remember, “Oh my goodness, the clothes are still in the hamper, unwashed!”
Of course, being a mom is filled with happiness, but that doesn’t negate how hard it is.
My Promise to You
Because I’ve walked this path myself, I won’t just tell you how joyful motherhood is, like many websites do. I want to share my real, unfiltered experiences so every new mom can find a “companion” here.
I want to tell you: you are not alone. What you’re going through, I’ve been there too. Your breakdowns, your helplessness, your moments of losing control—I’ve had them all. You don’t need to feel guilty. This is just a small, necessary stretch of the journey for every mom.
My Hope for This Space
I really want to share my parenting experiences—not just the warm, glowing moments, but to honestly document the pitfalls I’ve stumbled into, the tears I’ve shed, and the “survival wisdom” I’ve scraped together in utter exhaustion.
The Goal: A Mom’s Toolkit
I hope this blog becomes a “mom’s toolkit,” filled not with vague theories, but with:
- Practical Tips: Like how to quickly figure out why a baby is crying, tried-and-true methods for dealing with clogged ducts, or how to efficiently manage the daily grind with twins (or two under two) solo.
- Pitfall Avoidance Guides: Sharing the baby products I regret buying the most, and those “game-changer” parenting hacks. Letting you know which parenting anxieties you can let go of, and which principles are worth holding onto.
- A Community for Moms: I hope my stories connect me with more moms like you. We can cheer each other on in the comments, share our own tricks, turning the storms we face alone into a journey we walk together.
The Bigger Vision
My previous career taught me to analyze data, solve problems, and optimize processes. Now, I’m applying all those skills to this new “position” of Mom. I want to prove that a mom’s value is absolutely not confined to the home. The mindset, resilience, and creativity we built in our careers can shine just as brightly—perhaps even brighter—in this more complex, long-term “project” of raising humans, and can even be transformed into a force that helps others.
My hope is simple: that every mom who opens this blog can let out a sigh of relief and say, “So it’s not just me.” Then, she can find a bit of practical info, a dose of comforting solidarity, and return to her sweet, chaotic mom-life with a little more confidence and a little less weight on her shoulders.
This road? Let’s walk it together.
Re: Baby Showers
With that being said- she asked me to order the invites and address/mail them out (with her return address) because she's horrible at ordering anything online unless it's through Amazon Prime... Wellllllll it turns out I ordered 4 LESS invites than what I actually needed
she literally gave me 1 job and I failed... lol I just had to share!
So my mother is throwing one for us back in Michigan on 3/25... it's earlier due to my DH's work schedule (corporate rotation), my SS being on spring break- so we don't need to pull him out of school or do a "turn and burn", and then the whole no traveling past 35 weeks thing. I'll be 27 weeks.
My 2nd one my best friend is throwing for me down here, so that all my friends and co-workers that I'm close with can still celebrate. It will be much smaller than the one back home- but I'm honestly expecting it to be a lot more fun lol. This one is on 4/30 and I'll be 32 weeks.
I don't really think it's odd or tacky to have two showers when you have two different people who want to host and the guests are not invited to both showers.
The strollers should be back on the market after they replace the connectors that come with the system. They are a completely separate piece from the strollers, so I wouldn't think it would take too long.
Great choice on the B-Agile though; it is a wonderful stroller and worth an extra wait! We are planning to get the double B-Agile this time around, so it looks like we will have to wait a bit too.
Can I ask for those of you who are already mommies did you get stuff at your shower you didn't really want or knew you wouldn't use? Did you just keep those things? For example I don't want any Disney stuff. I just don't care for it clothing/toy wise. I didn't put anything like that on my registery but I'm also grateful for anything someone buys for Adeline and I.
I am a fan of regifting (maybe a FFFC) so you can always do that.
You can try and return things and if they can't be returned, donated to a children's hospital or charity?
I of course was very grateful for the gifts, even if they weren't quite what we needed.
A lot of stores will let you take things back without a reciept (or even for an extended time or without packaging) if they were purchased off of your registry, so one hack I did when i wanted to return something was add it to my registry, manually mark it purchased, and then take it back to the store.
I did did coffee mug, Starbucks card, pretty chocolates for 2 hosts.
Flowers for the person whose house it was at.
I did the smallest gift basket from bath and body works for the other hosts.
i had 3 showers with 6 hosts! Lol I went by their personalities.
Me: 34, DH: 38 ~ TTC since 2014
IUI #1-3 (Nov 2015, Feb 2016, May 2016) = BFNs
IVF ER (July 2016) = 7 PGS normal embryos
FET #1 (Sept 2016) = BFP! DD born 5/30/17
FET #2 (April 2019) = BFN
FET #3 (July 2019) = BFP! DS born 3/27/20
Can any of you ladies shed some light on what a drop in shower/sprinkle was like that you've attended or you've had? Pros/cons? If this has already been discussed I apologize, and if you'd point me in the right direction to look!